I, Monster

London in the 19th century: Dr. Charles Marlowe is an ambitious and brilliant scientist who studies the human psyche and the nature of evil. In an experiment, he succeeds in releasing his inner demon of a man and transforming it into an independent personality. In the evil personality of Edward Blake he leads a dangerous double life in which he commits murder. His colleague Frederick Utterson slowly gets behind the dark secret of Marlowe....

Amicus' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adaptation stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. In itself a promising premise, but the production is rather sluggish. The film is worth seeing mainly for its dark atmosphere and Christopher Lee's versatility.

Two versions on UK Blu-ray

[00:04:41][00:04:41]

The Extended shows Dr. Marlowe being driven home by a carriage.

His butler Poole sleeps in a chair at the entrance and wakes up when Marlowe enters the house.

Marlowe: "There was no need to wait up for me, Poole. I shall be going to the laboratory for a short while. You can lock up for the night."
Poole: "Very good, sir."
Marlowe: "Good night."
Poole: "Good night, sir."

Marlowe runs to his lab to continue his work.

Afterwards, Enfield, Utterson and Lanyon continue to talk about good and evil in the club.

Enfield: "Suppose what what Dr. Marlowe said were true? Suppose that just for a while, we could let loose the reins, fulfil our desires, without restriction, without control. I think I might choose evil."
Utterson: "But surely the essence of civilisation si the restriction of individual appetites by the individual himself, for the good of all mankind?"
Lanyon: "Hmm. Well, for my part, I... I don't know. In old age, temptations are great, as we see fulfilment of our desires slip away from us. But then, let us thank Heaven it is a choice which none of us here will be called upon to make. Nor will Dr. Marlowe, I fancy."

Ex: 2:46 min.


[00:15:32][00:18:19]

After the treatment, Marlowe and Diane talk. She is ashamed of what the drug has done to her. Marlowe reassures her and says that this is only natural.

Diane: "How could I? I feel so ashamed."
Marlowe: "Ashamed of what?"
Diane: "Ashamed of having thoughts like that. I don't have thoughts like that. Believe me, I don't."
Marlowe: "But you do. The drug showed us that. It shows a part of yourself that you try to keep from admitting is a part of yourself. It shows what you repress."
Diane: "Because it's wicked."
Marlowe: "It's because your parents, and others around you, tell you it's wicked to have such desires. They disapprove of such feelings. They're very human desires. There's nothing wrong with having them at all. Seeing them in yourself is the beginning of accepting them in yourself."
Diane: "You won't use your drug on me again, will you?"
Marlowe "No, that won't be necessary."

Afterwards, Marlowe is seen with Lanyon and Enfield at the club. Marlowe reports on Freud's views and that he is working on developing a drug that can free the subconscious.

Lanyon: "Are we drinking alone tonight?"
Enfield: "If I looked like that, a woman would be sure to have been the cause of it. But with our Dr Marlowe, it's probably only a patient."
Marlowe: "Not exactly."
Lanyon: "What, then?"
Marlowe: "An idea, really. Dr. Freud maintains that a great deal of illness is not physical in origin. Rather, the result of a patient trying to repress in his unconscious a part of himself that he will not allow his conscious self to admit. But supposing a way could be found of accelerating that process, by the use of a drug, physically harmless, of course, that would break down the barriers of the unconscious?"
Enfield: "Are you trying to tell us that you have found such a drug?"
Marlowe: "I'm not entirely sure. I have experimented with a drug on some of the animals in my laboratory. Some of them were scared, and shrank back in their cages. They were frightened of all the other animals, indeed, of everything around them. If I had not revived them with an antidote, they would probably have starved to death. Others that were formerly quite mild in character became bold, aggressive, and ferocious. And it was impossible to foretell what the reaction would be with any one particular animal."
Lanyon: "Then it doesn't just break down the barriers of the unconscious, it does something else?"
Marlowe: "Yes."
Lanyon: "What?"
Marlowe: "I don't know."
Enfield: "Have you tried it on your patients?"

Ex: 2:44 min.